The present invention relates to a socket for inspection of a semiconductor device or, more particularly, to a socket for inspection of, in particular, a surface-mountable semiconductor package having a plurality of leads on the side surfaces such as QFPs (quad flat packages), SOPs (small outline packages), PLCCs (plastic leaded chip carriers) and LCCs (leadless chip carriers).
In conducting a burn-in test of semiconductor packages, it is conventional to employ an IC socket for electrical connection between the electrode terminals of the semiconductor package and the electrode terminals of the testing circuit board. An IC socket for such a purpose of a known type comprises a socket body provided with a mounting seat to which a semiconductor package is mountable, a plurality of leads or pins fixed to the mounting seat of which the electrode terminals are connected to the side surfaces and bottom surfaces of the socket body with lead wires and a covering member pivotally rotatable up and down to open or close the upper opening of the mounting seat.
While the above mentioned covering member serves, when the covering member is brought into a position to close the upper opening of the mounting seat, to press down the semiconductor package mounted in the mounting seat so as to bring the electrode terminals of the semiconductor package and the leads or pins of the socket appearing inside of the mounting seat into a press-contacting state, it is usual that the covering member is provided on the lower surface thereof with a resilient cushioning member utilizing a rubber pad or spring so as to ensure uniformity of the contacting pressure between the above mentioned contact points. The IC socket of this type is mounted on a circuit board by soldering the leads to the electrode terminals of the circuit board, when the leads are provided on the side surfaces of the socket body, or by inserting the pins through the through-holes in the circuit board, when pins are provided on the bottom surface of the socket body.
The above described conventional IC socket has disadvantages that, since a plurality of electrode terminals must be provided on the mounting seat of the socket body and a plurality of leads or pins must be provided on the outer surface of the socket body, the number of necessary parts is so large and the assembling work is accordingly very troublesome.
Conventional IC sockets of this type have problems that soldering is always involved in the assembling work on a circuit board so that the number of process steps is increased so many and, in particular, when pins are to be provided, through-holes must be formed in the circuit board so that the design of the circuit board is complicated correspondingly.